Liverpool Targets Adam Wharton After Curtis Jones Departure
Liverpool’s midfield rebuild is gathering pace. Curtis Jones is heading for Inter Milan, and the Anfield hierarchy are now preparing a push for Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton as they reshape Andoni Iraola’s squad.
The Jones deal is all but done. Fabrizio Romano delivered his trademark “here we go” on Wednesday, reporting a verbal agreement between Liverpool and Inter on a €35m package, with the player’s terms settled and a medical scheduled. Jones has since been filmed arriving in Milan to put pen to paper.
His departure leaves a hole in Liverpool’s midfield group – and the club already have a name at the top of the list.
Wharton rises to the top of Liverpool’s shortlist
According to Caught Offside, Liverpool are targeting what has been described as an “ambitious move” for Wharton, with sources close to the agency world indicating the club are ready to accelerate their pursuit now Jones is on his way out.
Crucially, Iraola has given the green light. The Basque coach is understood to approve the idea of bringing the 22-year-old to Anfield, seeing Wharton as a deep-lying controller who can dictate tempo from the base of midfield. That profile would, in theory, free Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai to operate higher up the pitch, closer to goal.
Wharton’s stock has risen sharply over the past year. After impressing in the Championship before his move to Crystal Palace, he carried that form into the Premier League and then onto the international stage with England.
Declan Rice has already nailed his colours to the mast on Wharton’s talent. Speaking in June 2024 about his new England team-mate, the Arsenal midfielder called him “outstanding” and highlighted his composure in training, his calmness on the ball and a “beautiful left foot” with “really crisp passing”. Rice also praised Wharton’s attitude, describing him as a down-to-earth learner who looked unfazed on the big stage at his first European Championships.
That kind of endorsement has not gone unnoticed at elite clubs. It has certainly not lowered Palace’s asking price.
Palace dig in over valuation
And this is where Liverpool hit resistance. Palace are in no rush to sell and are reluctant to lose Wharton this summer. The Eagles value the 22-year-old at around £78m, a figure that underlines both his importance to Oliver Glasner’s plans and his perceived ceiling.
That stance makes any negotiation complicated. Liverpool have already committed fees to reshape other areas of the squad: Victor Munoz has arrived permanently from Osasuna, Jeremy Jacquet has joined from Rennes, and Ronald Araujo has been secured on a season-long loan from Barcelona.
Up front, the club are working hard to land Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola, a pursuit that has dragged on for weeks. The need for attacking reinforcements has only sharpened since Mohamed Salah’s departure to Trabzonspor at the end of last season.
The midfield, though, cannot be ignored. Losing a homegrown, Champions League-experienced player like Jones and replacing him with a 22-year-old still at the start of his Premier League journey would be a bold, decisive bet on upside and personality.
Liverpool have made those kinds of calls before. The question now is whether they are willing to go close to Palace’s valuation – and whether Palace are prepared to blink at all in a market where young, English midfielders are increasingly treated like gold dust.
